Current weather

Cummings to play baseball for Middle Georgia

Grovetown's Jamal Cummings gathered with his family Friday to announce he would play baseball at Middle Georgia College. With him, from left, is his grandfather Willie Cummings, grandmother Amanda, girlfriend Amber Greenaway, mother Deirdre and brother Jaylan.

When one door closed for Grovetown High School’s Jamal Cummings, he was already poised to walk through another one.

To that end, Cummings announced he would be playing baseball for Middle Georgia College in Cochran, Ga., at a letter of intent signing ceremony Friday.

“I’ve been playing baseball since I was very young and I noticed how good I was, and I wanted to make it something I could do possibly for the rest of my life,” said Cummings. “And since football didn’t work out, I figured baseball was the way to go.”

The five-foot-nine, 195-pound running back rushed for 1,200 yards as a junior and followed that up with 626 in his senior year. He was being looked at to play football collegiately, but the fit wasn’t there.

“The schools that were looking at me I wasn’t very interested in,” Cummings said. “I just stuck with baseball.”

In 2012, the fleet center fielder drove in 15 runs, had eight stolen bases and three home runs while fielding his position perfectly, and Warriors head coach Mike Jones thinks he made the right call to stay with baseball.

“It’s the one he can go the furthest in,” said Jones. “I think the sky’s the limit for him talent-wise, because he can run and his hands are as quick as lightning. He’s just got to keep working hard, keep working like he’s been working this year.”

One visit to the school for Cummings was all it took.

“When I took my visit to Middle Georgia, the coaches, they were just great, nice and friendly,” said Cummings, who plans to study sports medicine. “The whole atmosphere at the school was great. I fell in love with it the first time I went.”

Cummings hopes playing for the Knights will be a stepping-stone for the future.

“I’m hoping I go there and hopefully make a name for myself, and people get to know me, and eventually sign professional and stay there for a long time,” Cummings said.